Everest Community Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a school which has been changing extremely quickly under the new leaders.

They have driven up standards and ensured that the school is more ambitious for all its pupils. The pupils and parents love this new approach and younger pupils in particular are thriving here. Pupils are clearly happy in their lessons, trust their teachers and enjoy the wide variety of activities on offer.

The leaders know that the pupils need to do well in exams, but they are also ambitious that all pupils should learn about much more than the contents of these exams. They plan effectively to make that happen.

Leaders have really quickly created rules for behaviour which work....

They have done this in a way that is fair and has led to far fewer pupils being excluded. Pupils now behave well and attend school more regularly because the school supports them more appropriately. Pupils feel safe.

They report that bullying is rare and dealt with effectively when it does happen.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Learning has improved a lot recently. Subject leaders help teachers to plan and teach sequences of lessons which really help the pupils to understand and remember challenging topics.

This is most obvious in the lower years, where achievement is far better than in the past. Teachers are good at questioning and challenging pupils to work and think harder. Well-planned assessments help pupils to understand what they do not know or remember and what they need to focus on improving.

However, in a few cases teachers do not use assessments well enough to ensure that pupils know how much they have learned and what they need to do next.

The school offers subjects that are challenging because leaders believe that pupils can succeed. Most pupils now choose a language at GCSE and all do at least one out of geography and history, with many choosing both.

The school offers lots of experiences in music and design technology, but it needs to offer more timetabled lessons in these areas.

The new behaviour policies work well to support learning. Pupils know and remember more than before because they can now concentrate harder.

They are proud of this and were keen to show us their high-quality work. Because pupils now behave well in class, teachers are able to focus on making sure that the work set is demanding.

The school offers rich opportunities for personal development.

Leaders organise interesting assemblies and lessons which help pupils to understand how to stay safe and make them reflect on their place in society. The wider curriculum is particularly focused on promoting physical and mental health. Difference is respected and pupils learn to debate rather than argue.

Pupils value these activities, and many enjoy helping to plan and deliver them.Careers education, advice and guidance are well planned and delivered. Pupils say this support is really helpful and makes them ambitious.

For example, they all visit a university and attend lectures by professional speakers.

The team who support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are determined and thorough. As a result, these pupils are well supported in classes and outside so that they can successfully access the full curriculum.

Pupils who need support with reading are also helped quickly and effectively.

Governors and school leaders work together skilfully to deliver their ambitious vision. They know that in the past, poor decisions were made about the range of subjects offered in key stage 4 and they have made suitable changes.

Pupils now choose a more useful and ambitious range of subjects which better prepares them for their next steps in education or employment. Governors challenge leaders to get teaching and behaviour right. Leaders do this in a way that helps teachers to feel supported with their workload.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The school works hard to make sure that all pupils are kept safe and problems are not missed. Staff are well trained and regularly communicate with each other if they have any worries.

The safeguarding leads are thorough in the ways they follow up these concerns. When they need to, leaders are very determined at sourcing help for pupils from outside the school. Leaders maintain detailed and thorough records relating to child protection and safeguarding.

The pupils told us that they know who to talk to about anything worrying and they trust the staff to do the right things to help.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

The curriculum is broad and matches the ambitions of the national curriculum. However, music and design technology are currently delivered through extra-curricular work or integrated into other subjects.

This means that the learning in these areas of study is not consistent for all pupils in all years. Leaders need to implement their plans to improve provision and timetabling in these areas. .

Sensible whole-school guidelines for assessment are adapted in appropriate ways in most subjects but in some, for example modern foreign languages, this work is less consistent. As a result, teachers and learners do not have enough clarity about what knowledge is or is not being retained. Leaders need to work to support these subjects to reach the quality of the best practice in the school.

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